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Swings, Sunshine and Snoozes: Day Two

I woke up first thing and went to see Lovence. Turns out he loves music. I pulled out my phone and opened up my i-tunes. Hit play. Lovence took hold of it and bobbed his head to the beat. He then began sliding his finger over all kinds of things on my phone – opening up files, deleting things, moving files around.

And I could have cared less.

I just grinned at him like an idiot, thrilled for his joy.

We ate some breakfast and I took him over to the playground. It wouldn’t be long before Brian arrived and I couldn’t wait. I pushed Lovence on the swing. Worship music blared from my i-phone gripped in his little hand. He had a big smile on his face.

It actually brought tears to my eyes – it was the same worship music I’d played time and time again as I’d prayed about adoption. It seemed so poignant to hear that music coming from my little boy’s hand.

Of course then John Denver came on. “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

It was so out of place, it cracked me up. Lovence bobbed his head and laughed with me.

Brian arrived just after 10. I was thrilled to see him. We quickly put away his stuff and made our way over to the playground. Lovence was on the swing and was a bit too distracted to interact. Of course meeting him was a big moment for us, but to him we were just a few more white folks smiling away. We enjoyed his joy on the swing and then left him in the good care of his nanny. It was time to meet Laurentz. Since I’d spent most of the day before with Lovence, I was looking forward to connecting with Laurentz.

And so came some precious moments with our second son.

Baby boy laughter as we nuzzled his neck.

Holding his warm little body as he fell asleep on my chest.

And watching my hubby, the love of my life.

Laurentz immediately fell in love with Brian. Brian is so gentle and kind, easy to laugh and quick to play. Laurentz held out his arms to him and didn’t want to let go.

At one point, one of the missionary men came over and said hello to Laurentz. Laurentz turned to look at Brian before looking back at the man. There was a large group around and they all noticed. “Did you see that? He looked to Brian for approval before saying hi, like, “Dad, is this guy okay?’”

Just like my daughter Sam said when she saw a picture of the boys. “I nearly died inside for the cuteness.” That’s how I felt when I saw Brian with Laurentz and Lovence. Brian and I have been married for 7 years. I’ve seen him love our older kids. I’ve seen him interact with nephews and nieces – but to see him interact with these two boys filled my heart to overflowing.

He is a wonderful man and it will be such a joy to parent these boys alongside him.

The time went too quick and before we knew it, it was time for our meeting. M had arranged a meeting with some adoption specialists who could help us navigate the paperwork. We were so grateful and soaked up all their good advice. They warned us again that it would be a long process, likely two years before we would bring our boys home. We listened carefully, took lots of notes and prayed we wouldn’t miss anything important.

After lunch, more play time. Laurentz reminded us what it will be like to care for a toddler as he tried to lick water off the ground and eat his toys with abandon. At one point he got tired, let out one hearty cry and promptly fell asleep on Brian’s shoulder.

We also got some swing time (in the big boy swing!) with Lovence.

The rest of the day flew by. We joined the big group of kids for their evening devotion and watched them worship our God with loud voices and heartfelt joy. We played more, talked more and prayed more—then the day came to an end.

The overall feeling of this day? It’s best captured by this video of Brian with our baby boy, Laurentz.

29 thoughts on “Swings, Sunshine and Snoozes: Day Two”

Elsa and Brian,
Wow! What an amazing journey you are on. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Sending our best along with lots of prayers for this process to go smoothly and as quickly as is possible for you to bring home your boys.
Blessings,
Marilee & John

Wow….this is like reading a great novel. Can’t wait to see what happens in the pages to come. My heart is filled with smiles at the beauty of those two babies! So thankful to get to be a “reader” in this chapter of your life! 🙂

Brian & Elsa,
Your devotion to God & each other has made you a conduit for His love to make a great impact in the lives of your boys and everyone you share your journey with. May the Lord bless you and keep you close to him in all your days to come.

Elsa,
I am a friend of Brian’s from back in Columbus. What an exciting time for the both of you. You will be in my prayers as you go through this process of adopting Jacob and Nathaniel. You do a wonderful job with your blog. I have enjoyed reading your posts. Blessings!!
Brian Elder